For Brody, who is 72 years old, her adoption of a puppy was something that she put a lot of thought into. Her first column (a must-read one) about young Max generated more reader comments than anything she had written before—and she has been writing this column since 1976!

Many of the comments came from older people who had adopted dogs, and one, from a retired judge, was especially poignant:

“At age 85, I begged my wife like a 7-year-old to let me have a dog,” he wrote. “We acquired a rescue dog we’ve since learned is a Lhasa Apso. If I leave him for a moment to take out the garbage, he greets me as though I had been at sea for years. None of my children ever demonstrated such love. Without him, I would just be some old guy walking the streets, but everybody stops me to pet him, ask his breed, and just be friendly.

“If I were in my 20s, I think I would be getting marriage proposals just because of him. Dog-owning has its burdens, as you’ve stated, but of all the decisions I have made in this life, next to marrying my wife, this was the very best.”

Brody also points out that having a puppy, especially as a senior, can also be challenging, especially during the housebreaking stage, and while the health and social benefits are easily touted, as she did so well in the first column, there can be the “burdens” as well. Wisely one of her readers chastised her for not suggesting that “older people opt for a dog who is already housebroken.”

I would like to suggest that a senior might a senior dog. I know that there are shelters that provide this kind of service, matching a senior with a senior, and offering discounted adoption fees too. Does your shelter have similar programs?